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Personal (please list occupation, education and family):
I am the Vice President of D & G Excavating, Inc. I attended Holy Redeemer School from Preschool through 8th grade, then graduated from Marshall Senior High School in 2010. I attended South Dakota State University for a Bachelors in Construction Management.
My wife Melissa and I were married in 2016. We have a 7 year old daughter, 4 year old son, and a 1 year old son, and we live just on the outside of Lynd on the former Brosseau Farm.
Why am I running for a school board seat?
I'm running for school board because I want to give back to the community that has been good to our family. I would also like to help keep the school here in Lynd. Our 7 year old and 4 year old both attend school at Lynd Public School, and they love the school and the staff. Our youngest will also be attending Lynd Public School before long. There are seats open this election because the people currently in those positions aren't running again. I want to make sure the voters in the school district have options for who fills those seats.
What are the major issues facing the District?
Of course there are financial and enrollment issues. Almost every school district in the state is facing some sort of budget shortfall, almost $220,000,000 in total. So this isn't just isolated to our district. Marshall Public Schools were looking at a $1,800,000 deficit the previous school year, and had to cut some positions. I think our small school district is in an okay position considering what some are facing.
What are the areas of concern regarding student achievement in the district?
One concern would be declining test scores, which again is not isolated to Lynd School District. Test scores are declining throughout the entire state. The great thing about Lynd Public School is that we have a lower student to teacher ratio than surrounding school districts. This doesn't bring in the most funding for the school district, but the students are able to have more interaction with their teacher versus a more crowded classroom.
Do you have specific suggestions for improvement?
Not at this time. I believe the current school board and superintendent are working in the right direction.